Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“Struggling just for the sake of struggling is foolish. I say we give it a try.”
I lock eyes with him, wondering exactly what he’s offering me.
“Give what a try?”
“Us.” His answer is simple, but it encompasses so much.
“And if we don’t work out?” Sexual attraction isn’t all that goes into a relationship. Staying together because the sex is great is a recipe for something so toxic it has the ability to burn down everything else.
“We have Cerberus. They’ll stand with us no matter what we decide. I know it may be hard to comprehend or even accept, but we’re a part of that family now. No matter what you decide, I have to be in Sutton’s life, and I won’t give up the boys either. The club is full of men who will show those boys what true role models look like. Sutton will have more mothers than anyone has the right to ask for. Everyone there will love and protect them as if they’re their own, and they will have that no matter what you decide.”
“I like the sound of that,” I say, wanting the best for Sutton and the boys. It’s something every child deserves but so few actually get.
I’ve heard the it takes a village saying too often. It’s rare to actually have a village willing to help. Cerberus has created this almost utopian place where the bad things in the outside world aren’t able to infiltrate. And if something tries, they’ll be annihilated by all the warriors standing at the gate, willing to die to protect the ones they care for that are inside.
“I want to be a part of all of it.”
He gives me a smile, cupping my cheek in a way that makes me feel more loved than I ever have before in my life.
“You ready to get started?” Kincaid asks as he walks up to us.
It’s clear our time to discuss things is over.
“Yes, sir,” I tell him, pulling away from Vincent.
Chapter 27
Stormy
Kincaid and Mila begin discussing the requirements for the main pieces she’ll need. She doesn’t seem as reluctant to go through with this as she did when discussing it with Em yesterday.
Maybe the conversation we had just now helped her some. Maybe she’s as unwilling to go against what Kincaid says as the rest of us are.
After a short conversation about which chair and sink she’ll need, Kincaid hands her over to Shadow before he walks back in my direction.
I could easily trail along behind her like the lost puppy I feel like when I’m in her orbit, but I need her to gain some confidence as well.
Newton and Oracle are wandering around separate of each other, making sure there are no threats. For the first time, I realize that they’re doing this for me as much as they are for Mila. Her safety means my sanity, and it doesn’t hit me until right in this very moment that I’d do anything for her. I could easily say that before, feeling like I’d be willing to lay my life down to protect any woman, but only now do I realize that she is so incredibly important to me, and not just as the mother to my child.
“Jesus,” I mutter.
“Yeah,” Kincaid says, his eyes locked across the building on her. “Let’s go make sure they get the right stuff.”
Reluctantly, I follow him from the room.
“That pull in your gut that tells you to keep her in your line of sight only grows,” he says conversationally.
I force myself to put one foot in front of the other and increase the distance between her and me.
“I think we’re going to give it a try,” I say, knowing he’ll know what I’m talking about since he seems to be inside my head right now anyway.
He nods. “Kids are happy when the adults in their lives are happy, but just make sure you aren’t trying to force it for the wrong reasons. Some people aren’t meant to be together even though they share a child.”
His words make me think back to Jinx, Simone, and Rocker. Those three all hooked up one night, and she ended up pregnant. She and Rocker fell in love, but the baby was Jinx’s. They didn’t let the paternity rip them apart. Jinx is still a father to that child even though Simone and his best friend are together.
The thought of her putting her arms around someone else makes my skin crawl.
I also know all about what many call the honeymoon phase when people are on their best behavior from the very beginning, but I don’t feel like that pertains to us at all. She all but hated me when I arrived in St. Louis. I know now that it was a defense mechanism, that she was fearful I’d take Sutton and the boys away from her. Hopefully, letting her know I don’t have any intention of doing that will settle some of the things piled between us. I know we both have walls up, and trust is a vulnerable thing, especially after lies have been told and secrets have been kept.